Where to build?

I agree, it isn't unreasonable to pay a knowlegeable guy a hundred bucks or so to come out and eyeball the situtation. My crane guys insisted on a free visit just as part of the deal, they didn't want to get their equipment out to a site where they were going to get in trouble or be unable to do the work. Of course, my project (unloading the hull from the trailer) was happening in a month, not in an undetermined number of years into the future. Anyway, I wasn't suggesting nor do I think adt2 thinking that a crane operator would necessarily come out and assess the situation for free. The point I would make is that these guys do this stuff all of the time and what may look impossible to someone like me is just another day at work for them.

In anycase, I still think that having a large building site next to your home is worth a lot of fanagaling (spelling?) to get the boat moved later on. There was a guy in my area who build a big cat and drug it though a couple of miles of ranch property (cutting and reparing fences along the way) in order to get it to a road and then later to the river. It seemed like a big ordeal but in reality, was completed in a couple of days and wasn't as much drama as he thought.

There is a way to move your boat, but I think you want to have it at least outlined before you start. It may influence how you go about the build. Good luck.

SeaJay

 

Interesting thread.

I have some comments, although I'm not too bright, my Mother said I was dropped on my head as a baby.

That is a big project and I assume you will be building some sort of lifting gear, gantry crane as you will have to turn the hull, unless you make it right side up, which I believe is very difficult.

Suggestion that I have liked is:
1. Make sure you know what you are going to do before you start.
2. Build another road so you don't have to negotiate the trees along the driveway.

But here's some more:
1. Build the boat when it's right side up on a frame that can be towed. Towing companies have wheels they attach under loads to move them. Get the dimensions off the wheel assemblies and make the frame to suit.
2. Build a temporary bridge across the ditch. Like the army does to get equipment accross.
3. Take the boat through your neighbours property if the road is more easily accessable.

Poida

 

Also consider that the insurance companies on both your side and the crane operator, transport side will insist on a " docking Diagram".

How heavy the boat is, shape and most important , lifting strap locations, spreader bar width and blocking that will be needed. .

Its very easy to crush a keel , a chine, a sheer or tear thru expensive paint when handling a boat in lifting slings.

Crane operators and transport specialists are skilled at handling their machinery, but are unaware of the structure or boats.

Be sure that your naval architect is consulted and that you have these documents in hand.

 

Do what i did on one build, built it on a cradle on railroad tracks ( light gage mine tracks, heavy gage pipe will also do, buy for scrap, sell for scrap by weight). Built it in the shop, rolled it out to the roadside where they easily loaded it. (4 to 6 rails, good planning a few extra hands is all thats necessary to cover a great distance by leap frogging . --Geo

A yacht is not defined by the vessel but by the care and love of her owner

 

Thanks to all who are contributing; I've not disappeared, I'm just quietly observing the dialogue for now. It seems the general consensus is "go ahead a plan on building it at home," but to do it with the proper amount of forethought and planning.

I think my next steps are going to be to find a truly local crane guy (the ones I talked to were all in Houston, which - while nearby - is still a good 40+ miles from where I live) and offer to compensate him for his time to just come out and talk to me for an hour.

Plan is to build right-side-up - I want no part of rolling a 58' hull. I'm planning to build a heavy-duty cradle out of 6x6 or similar, but I'll look into the towing companies' attachable wheels - that might solve a lot of problems.

 

Adt2, a very important point was made earlier re from time start to time to move the area infastructure had changed to a point where the build was landlocked. Keep a sharp eye on the developments between you and the launch site.From your described lifes situation you're looking at possibly 10 to 12 yrs into the future before the big move if you start today. Had two friends that did the same, wasn't a good outcome with the move finance wise, One cost $20,000 the other $12,000 which cut into their crusing funds. Also i recommend you build on a steel fabricated cradle, much stronger and easier to jack and wedge to keep all in line. Scrap steel I beams would not cost much more than wood and have good resale value. ---Geo,

 

With steel boats, it is possible to weld legs and attachment points for shoring and lifting. You can cut and grind flat before launching.

 

And if the crane driver, transport guys or local bureaucracy place banana skins in your path , you could always sidestep em' by borrowing a Sky Hook HLV for the afternoon and floating her out.

 

There are cargo helicopter services available. The do a lot of HVAC for tall buildings and other inaccessible sites. I don't know what the price is though. They can carry an Abrahams tank

 

Here's another idea...

I bought my hull in a pretty nice plywood cradle. However, the county gave us a bunch of grief about the fabric structure we were building around it. After about 6 months of arguments, my landlord offered to let me move it into his barn (I told you he is a great guy). Of course, "just" moving it to the barn a couple hundred yards away was easier to say than to do. I didn't want to pay for a crane and trailer so here's what I did.

I bought a 12' x 60' mobile home that was being demolished ($300 I think), and took it down to the bare frame. I then chopped off about 15ft, welded the back to the front and had a pretty sturdy "dolly" (I hesitate to call it a trailer). I then jacked up the cradle with a bunch of Harbor Freight 2 ton jacks and rolled the "dolly" under the cradle and then pulled the whole shebang up to the barn with a Ford F150 pickup truck (total weight maybe 5,000lbs). This solved a problem I was going to have to face anyway as I backed the hull into the barn and left it on the dolly. Now when I'm finished, I'll just pull the dolly and boat out of the barn, lift it with a crane onto a real trailer and Jack's your uncle, I'm off to the launch site. (yes, there are a few more details but that's the general plan).

Anyway, with a little effort, you could probably convert a mobile home frame to something that would support your build and also make at least one trip from your site to the water. There are licensing issues of course, but it might be worth considering.

 

Just takes faith, built it and the flood shall come. But seriously...

since this is a design forum and he just commissioned the design lets at least toy with doing it like the 'big boys' build mega-ships-in modular sections.

That is probably a much better idea when working with weldable steel than other materials.

Unfortunately, I don't see much advantage, road dimension-wise, from doing a 55' x17' mono-hull in sections unless you quarter it into 55/2 and 17/2 sections.


As far as moving a massive object and bending the local laws, I've learned in construction you can often "get away with murder" once and nothing happens. They just tell you not to do it again, if you display the right demeanor. Sometimes using the "underlings" ploy can help.

As long as a Drug Bust isn't involved, at the very worst you can pay a minor fine and have a judge order it released.

Just pull SOME sort of 'extra wide' permit.

Often, just giving the local cops the 'heads up' is all it takes to block streets for hours on end as long as you aren't totally blocking in other citizens.

Hint: now would be the time to become some sort of local law enforcement booster.

Also, since big construction is way down, you should be able to get a BIG crane at a reasonable rate. I couldn't agree more that the one-time expense of a crane and big truck is worth building it on your property.

 

Don't even consider a helicopter or other air lift. My quote was $120,000 and there is only one company in the USA that can lift that weight. Also, nobody is allowed in the flight path and every building in the flight path is required to be evacuated by the faa.

My move was 4 miles for that quote, which did not include the building evacuation costs.